recessions, instead, it fell, like a rock off the cliff, except for the little peak when it comes to the census. this recession has not been handled like the others and the recovery has been harder than it would have been if we were not laying off all the teachers and snow plow drivers and cops and firefighters. everybody understood that before this recession to get out of the recession you hire more people, not less people. we have never tried to recover from a recession this way before. not under democrats and not under republicans. this insistence this time from the beltway, mostly from republicans, but from beltway common wisdom, too, insisting the cutting, as if it were one hand tied behind our back, and trying to get recovery from this recession. we have never cut government jobs when we were trying to save the economy, until this time. and now that we are finally stumbling back from the depths of recession, we are still trying to cut government jobs. look at this, more than 70,000

government workers were canned when the recession began. the government sent 9,000 government workers home with a final paycheck, good luck, officer, see you around. so chart imitates life. we lionize and celebrate the people who fix the math, and rescue us from fires. we lionize and celebrate them justly as we should. and then in record numbers we can them, hurting them and us as a country. not every public sector worker is going to win the medal of valor like those at the white house today. but there is reason to appreciate them, both in the heroic and in the specific, and in the aggregate, for what they do for us every day. that does it for us, we'll see you tomorrow night, now it is time for "the last word" with lawrence o'donnell. john boehner now claims he had nothing to do with the dreaded sequester, even though

he voted for it. even some republicans are not letting him get away with that little fib. >> repetition, is it the mother of all yearning as spending cuts loom. >> are the republicans willing to compromise? >> finger pointing? >> we're still knee-deep in the blame game. >> who thought of this idea? >> i made it perfectly clear i don't like the sequester. >> that the sequester was leverage to extract entitlement cuts. >> i got 90% of what i wanted, i'm pretty happy. >> congress is out this week. >> they're taking this week off. >> which says something, i suppose. >> this all began in 2011. >> both sides did agree to the sequester. >> it is a very dumb thing, just stupid. >> the way it is structured? >> it is like a situation of dumb and dumber, moving on.

>> things are still moving forward on immigration. >> john mccain really took some heat. >> just ask john mccain. >> you're a senator with the federal government. >> question after angry question. >> you said build a dang fence, where is the fence? >> why didn't the army go down this and stop them? >> this is not john mccain's first rodeo. >> john mccain was on "meet the press," questioning president obama's judgment. >> he has had no communications with republicans on the issue. >> let me see if you have this correct, when you select sarah palin are you allowed to question anyone's judgment? >> just nine days until the federal government faces yet another one of those dramatic deadlines that it never faced before, just before they took control of the white house. president obama took part of today doing local television

interviews for markets in oklahoma and south carolina and texas and five other states about the consequences of the sequester spending cuts and how they can be stopped. >> we had the good folks of oklahoma write in the questions that they wanted me to ask you. oklahoma has a large number of federal employees. why will federal employees have to suffer furloughs because congress and the president can't reach an agreement on the budget? >> well, they shouldn't. and we should be able to reach an agreement. for those who have not been paying as close attention as kevin, we have automatic spending cuts coming up in nine days that will lay off hundreds of thousands of folks across the country, or furlough them across the country. they are not necessary, they will hurt the economy and cause unemployment. and the reason is that congress has not been able to come forth with a balanced deficit package. the majority of people want that kind of balanced package, the deficit reduction.

now i need congress to act, they have nine days to do it. >> john boehner spent today on recess, but his writing staff published a piece in "the wall street journal" accusing the president of raging against the budget he created. he led the republican house in voting for it, which some conservatives have not forgotten. byron york, chief political conservative columnist, wrote, john boehner describes the sequester as a policy that threatens the security, leads to the question, why would republicans support the measure that threatens national security and thousands of jobs. byron york continues the effect of the argument is to make obama seem reasonable. after all, the president certainly agrees with boehner that the cuts threaten national security and jobs.

the difference is obama wants to avoid them. could the gop message on the sequester be anymore self-defeating. it made rush limbaugh uncharacteristically humble today. he had to admit there is something even he doesn't understand. >> boehner, echoing obama, in "the wall street journal," in answer to a question, the republicans support the sequester. they're on record as supporting it, even though it is obama's idea. they support it. it is the only way we're going to get budget cuts. the question is why would republicans support something that does what boehner says it is going to do? threatens u.s. national security? thousands of jobs could be lost. boehner is calling the cuts deep, when they're not.

no, i do not have an explanation. i don't think that there is a reasonable explanation. i don't understand it. don't have an answer for you. it is too simple to chalk this up to incompetent. it may be that, but i don't have an answer, i can't explain it to you. all i know is that it doesn't make any sense. >> and since we are once again in a political and governing territory where we have never been before, those of us who use political models of the past to predict what will happen in our political future are of course, totally lost. there is now only one person who seems to know how this is going to end. >> obama knows that all he has got to do is go out there and make a couple of really tough speeches like he did yesterday, and the republicans will cave.

i mean, that is the history of this. >> krystal ball, i wish i could share rush limbaugh's confidence -- >> he is always right, so -- >> of yeah, how this works, i don't really have a counter-theory of how this works out. we've never been here before, so we're just guessing. >> well, and the problem is here for republicans, they don't want to agree to any tax increases in this deal. so they feel like the cuts that are on the table are better than having to agree to tax increases. and the democrats feel like the cuts that are on the table are better than agreeing to different cuts in an equal amount that would just fall more heavily on social programs. so it is hard to see how they get out of this impasse by the particular sequester deadline. >> but ari, do all republicans think that? i mean, if john boehner is out there saying look, this is bad for national defense, these cuts. bad for the economy, he is even

willing to say. that seems to me to demand that you do something to avoid them. and if that means closing some loopholes, that would be a reasonable outcome. i just don't see how boehner can continue to say how bad these cuts are and then not be willing to do some sort of compromise to avoid them. >> yes, the sequester was supposed to be the solution. and the premise of boehner's article today is that the sequester is the problem. so if the sequester is the problem, he pointed out, many others were really confounded by that article in "the wall street journal." i looked at it, the words that talked about the concept of the narrator, boehner has really confused them. for those of us who spent a lot of time on it, he confused us too.

as we said, he can't say this is bad for jobs, things that every politician is for, jobs and security. i don't think he has a message, he has a panic button, he realizes just like before the one thing that has repeated is his inability to get his caucus united. now he is saying look, i'll say it is bad, as bad as it is i don't want to be blamed for it. >> let's listen to what john boehner said on the origins of it. >> if they had nothing to do with it and never liked it in the first place, why did they vote for it? every republican in the house voted, including speaker boehner, he said i got 90% of what i wanted and i'm pretty pleased. this is a ridiculous argument. we should focus on solutions and resolving this so people don't lose their jobs.

>> the 98% of what i wanted, coming back to haunt him. >> it is pretty damaging. i don't think the american people are interested in all of this who started it, where did it come from debate? that boehner clearly wants to have. and they're acting very guilty about it. in my house if there is a cookie missing, and i say there is a cookie missing, and my daughter says i didn't eat it. i know right away she took the cookie, but she is only four, it is okay. i give her a pass. they're acting like they took the cookie and it is obvious. they're spending so much time saying the president is not serious about cutting the budget, he doesn't want to make cuts. on the other hand he is responsible for the draconian cuts, the republicans know they are the ones talking so much about budget cutting that this definitely falls on their shoulders. >> can i get on the cookie analogy?

>> that is why you're here, jump on every analogy that comes along. >> i am not a parent like krystal, but i think it is a bit like you have a kid who is not getting the grades, right? so you threaten them, you say if you don't get your grades up i'm going to home school you, that is supposed to be worse. the child probably wants to be home -- not home schooled. if the grades stay down, what happens? you undermine your parental authority, i believe. >> yeah, that is my understanding. >> and you are basically in a situation saying well, neither of us wanted that. we all know it was a threat. and the real answer, beyond the cookies and analogy, the spending reduction that the republicans passed raised fiscal spending by the year 2013. that is something john boehner pointed to saying we have looked to cutting. and then you actually look at the numbers, and they were

called out on it today. it doesn't cut. so the plan and threat doesn't involve something they want to do. and the so-called cutting doesn't cut, because they can't shrink the government this way. >> so are we headed for another time-buying maneuver at the last minute that creates another 30-day window in which to decide this? >> well, it looks like the sequester cuts will take some amount of time. maybe there is a solution there. it is hard to see, nobody is negotiating, nobody is working with each other. everybody is trying to figure out the best political position. >> and nothing until 11:00 p.m., until the sequester hits. >> it doesn't even seem like there are the movements towards negotiations. and it is hard for me to see, i think both sides feel like they prefer the sequester than to any deal that the other side is offering at this point.

>> krystal ball and ari melber, thank you for joining us. and we'll see more on john mccain's arizona constituents attacking him on the reform. and getting invited to speak at the conservative political action conference this year. one, be a wicked big loser like sarah palin, and the biggest loser of all, mitt romney, who got himself invited to speak today. and later, stephen colbert's sister is running for congress. and is choosing this platform as a candidate. the cross examination of elizabeth colbert busch is coming up. there is still time to help me out by tweeting your questions for her. or post them on facebook. priority, of course, will be given to those questions that come from the first

congressional district of south carolina. and please don't lie about being in the district. we know how easy that is to do on twitter, on line, but it would be wrong. we're going to use the honor system here tonight on "the last word," because we trust you. with the spark cash card from capital one... boris earns unlimited rewards for his small business. can i get the smith contract, please? thank you. that's three new paper shredders. [ boris ] put 'em on my spark card. [ garth ] boris' small business earns 2% cash back on every purchase every day. great businesses deserve unlimited rewards. read back the chicken's testimony, please. "buk, buk, bukka!" [ male announcer ] get the spark business card from capital one and earn unlimited rewards. choose 2% cash back or double miles on every purchase every day. told you i'd get half. what's in your wallet?

>> her little brother pronounces it colbert. the pronouncing that haunted this country for eight years, since "the colbert report," will be solved here tonight on "the last word." sister colbert will be here tonight. coming up. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso.

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it's gentle and clinically proven to help restore and maintain regularity. look for citrucel today. . why didn't the army go down there and stop them? because the only thing that stops them, i'm afraid to say, it is too darn bad, is a gun, that is what will stop them. >> that is where john mccain found himself in arizona, the place that used to be mexico. >> we're not allowed to have an armed militia on our borders. that is what our founding fathers wanted. your problem is with them, not with me. >> john mccain and the other senator, flake, are part of a bipartisan group to produce legislation by the end of march. >> most of the people that come across the border are illiterate, they don't speak english, and they're a dependent

class. so here is what we have. a large group of dependent people that are going to want to be citizens. they are going to be on medicare, welfare, get food stamps. >> you know, again -- again. >> what is going to happen is -- >> again, sir, you're not telling these people the truth. they -- they mow our lawns, and care for our babies. they clean -- they -- the work that those people do, you're wrong again. >> you are saying build the darn fence, where is the fence? >> in case you missed it, that is a fence, we put up a banana with about $600 million worth of appropriations we have. sir, you're entitled to your opinion, you're not entitled to your facts. >> you say banana, i say fence, the old john mccain was on display yesterday.

the one who was not afraid to say what people didn't want to hear. >> obviously, they're not here to assimilate, into our society, they're here doing the things they need to do to make their life better at home, now, the question -- >> sir, some have been here as long as 40 years. they are serving in our military. >> as senator john mccain was leaving the event, he tried to downplay his audience's negative reaction to immigration reform. >> somewhere around 70-something percent of the american people believe there should be a path to citizenship, as long as they pay a fine, pay taxes. >> would you say 70%? >> i would say the majority, sure, what is your problem? >> i don't have a problem. >> yeah, you do, you keep thinking this was not a typical town hall meeting, it is. >> joining me now, and maria hinojosa, john mccain doesn't

get elected by the american people, he gets elected in arizona where this is obviously a pretty tough subject to handle. >> yeah, you know, but he did say let's talk about facts. he continued to bring it up. that is what i want to talk about. for me to watch this scenario, i feel this people's pain in a sense. because i see that they are very fearful, they are scared about what is happening in their state. and frankly in the country. so in this face of fear, i think facts are really important. so this notion of you know, they're all on welfare, and they're you know, overrunning our country and not speaking english. no, the fact is, that actually if we were -- if there was a process to legalize people, it would actually be a boon to the american economy. states, texas has shown that. arkansas has shown that. economists are talking about that.

so one of your producers -- i said i feel like i want to hug one of these people and say come on, guys, all the anger, sheriff arpaio's anger, no, it is going to keep changing. and frankly we know the numbers crossing the border are flat right now, the numbers are not playing out really. >> let's take a look at more of the people that need a hug from maria, let's take a look at another one. >> there are people who have been here illegally for 50 years. or 40 years. am i then telling them to become guest workers? no, you can't do that. why can't you do that? because we're a judeo-christian principled nation, that is why you can't do that. again, we just have a difference of opinion. >> jonathan, so much for that judeo-christian-principle nation stuff. they actually said no, no, no, when he said that.

>> yeah, the beautiful -- >> the judeo-christians. >> yeah, the beautiful thing about what senator mccain did, and this gets to what maria was saying in terms of the hug, this fear of immigrants, the undocumented workers has been allowed to fester, because all the things that have been said, nobody of any stature has been willing to push back on this and say no, this is the case, listen to me. i'm your elected official, you sent me to washington to focus on this. and you know, john mccain when he ran for re-election a couple of years ago, he said build the dang fence. he played to the crowd. what we saw just now was a john mccain who was basically giving this guy a hug and saying no, i understand your fear, but your fear is misplaced. here are the facts, this is the way it is. we need to see more of that john mccain. and we need to see more of that kind of john mccain in all the other states and all these other

elected officials who face town halls like that, where people are pushing, throwing falsehoods at them. and then to be able to say no, no, no, here is what the facts are, and why you don't need to be afraid. and why we actually need to do something about this to settle your fears. >> well, let's listen to more of that john mccain. >> and -- >> that is the problem. >> see what i mean, you're just making my point. >> you don't listen to us, that is the reason i'm like this. >> you know something, again? i have gone to town hall meetings for 30 years, people are happy i have town hall meetings and i listen to them and get back to them. and that is what this is all about. but occasionally i get a jerk like you here. >> oh, yes, that is -- a jerk like you. >> look, the reality is that what we know, the numbers show that more than half, more than 70%, depending on the polls, of

american people believe that it is time to do something about this issue. they realize that it is not just one person who is cleaning your garden lights. it is the kids who are friends with your kids. so suddenly, johnny's best friend, he had to leave the country. why? because his mother was deported, and he is going wait a second, they're good people, they worked at the local deli. so the reality is that the majority of american people understand this. they understand it from an economic place. they understand it from a constitutional place and from a heart place. so when you -- in arizona you are going to have this group of people who i applaud for being engaged in democracy, good for them. >> and when you have been there, what is the heat of this subject -- what is it like down there? >> it is hard to pinpoint, i can tell you most recently when i was down there in june, and there was a protest in front of

joe arpaio, i went to be there, i am a journalist, i understand their perspective, the anger was so intense. i tried to speak to them like hi, can i ask a question. i asked the sheriff, i said why are you always yelling? why are you so angry, just tell me. i have to yell, it is just like -- this is in fact the future. because if you look at the demographics of our country, this is in fact, the futuro. >> it was also the past of that region. they were here first. these people who you're saying don't belong here anymore. >> well, yes, but these folks, the folks in the tape that you showed, in john mccain's town hall forum, they don't care about that. they care about the here and now. they care about their present, and they certainly care about their future. and their future does not

recognize that the undocumented workers, the latinos who are there in arizona, who they are fuming against, that that is the future of their state and that is the future of this country. and if they want to get over the fears that they have they need to come to terms with it. >> maria hinojosa, thank you both, for joining me tonight. coming up, why joe biden suddenly decided to become a salesman for shot guns. and in the rewrite, why did cpac decide to invite mitt romney? and what did he say to those people. and later, elizabeth colbert will be here, and will pronounce the family name.

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do you think joe biden really wants you to buy a shot gun and fire it blindly into the night? i don't think so, we'll figure out what he is up to next. and i've been reading your tweets. there is still time to send them for stephen colbert's sister, elizabeth colbert busch, here is a good one from carolina, is the stephen colbert cpac going to help to finance the south carolina campaign? she will be asked that question. elizabeth colbert busch gets tonight's last word. executor of efficiency. you can spot an amateur from a mile away... while going shoeless and metal-free in seconds. and you...rent from national. because only national lets you choose any car in the aisle...and go. you can even take a full-size or above,

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if you want to protect yourself, get a double barrel shot gun. >> that was vice president joe biden yesterday, making the case for banning assault weapons like the ones used in the mass murder of children and teachers at sandy hook elementary school, by making the -- in making the case against assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, though, the vice president got a bit carried away. in making the case in favor of shot guns. >> if you want to protect yourself, get a double-barrel shot gun. have the shells, a 12-gauge shot gun, and i promise you, as i told my wife. we live in an area that is somewhat secluded, i said jill, just walk out on the balcony,

put the double-barrel shot gun, and fire two blasts outside the house. i promise you if anybody is coming in, you don't need an ar-15, it is harder to aim and use, and in fact you don't need 30 rounds to protect yourself. buy a shot gun, buy a shot gun. >> today, white house press secretary jay carney says that the president agrees with the vice president that there is no need for homeowners to protect themselves with military-style guns. but he stopped short of saying the person should shoot blindly outside their home. >> the president does agree with the vice president that homeowners who are interested in utilizing their second amendment rights, to use a firearm in their home don't need a military-style assault weapon and that a shot gun would be a logical choice. >> joining me now, richard wolff

and timothy noa, if jill biden hitting anything, it could be a secret service person, who is there to protect her. >> and joe biden, i believe he still has a home with some wooded land in delaware. you know, god love you, joe biden, as he would say, if he is not sponsored by the gun manufacturers, the shot gun manufacturer's association of america, he should be. interestingly, the politics is what he is getting at. yes, and jay carney knows that, and knows him, as well. he is engaged in the extreme ridiculous moments that the nra is engaged in. they're saying you're going to take away all the guns, and joe biden is saying go out and buy guns. they're actually making a joke,

why can't he do it the other way? >> tim noa, as soon as i heard the vice president say this, i knew that you predicted in this piece, where you say it remains common when making a liberal argument to shroud it in non-liberal language. that is exactly what joe biden was trying to do. >> he was trying to establish, shore up. i can call for gun control because by golly, i have my gun, i love my gun, i tell my wife to shoot the gun. i would hate to be a ups delivery person going to their home. they have to establish being authentic. the irony is, that most people don't own guns in this country. the percentages are way down. i think it is down to about 21% now.

those of us who don't own guns are the authentic ones. >> and richard, that is -- joe biden's mistake here, he think is that the authenticity is in the shot gun crowd, and the people who think when you hear a noise it is perfectly reasonable to fire a shot gun into the darkness. >> yes, he probably has been watching too many movies. in either location this is not a realistic option. he is in a more populated area, even in delaware than he is suggesting. is this a realistic policy? no, he is engaging in a classic piece of exaggerating, for joe biden. but it can still work in politics, he is talking about protecting home and family. it is just ludicrous to imagine the vice president's wife is going to do this some? >> in your piece, it is called "how liberals became real americans," you made the point that we're past the spot in the

curve where liberals need to couch their arguments this way. that in fact, the kind of thinking that joe biden is trying to advance in policy terms is majority thinking. >> that is right, i mean, most of us don't own guns. most of us don't live in rural areas. you know, most of us don't even go to religious services on a weekly basis. this cartoon picture of the liberal is actually the mainstream. and this cartoon picture of the gun owner is now in the minority. >> and richard, that is -- the challenge for joe biden is he is trying to find the language that unlocks votes on the other side of this issue. he is trying to find language that unlocks the votes of west virginia democratic senators, for example. and so i know example what he was reaching for there.

>> yeah, in just think he would be better off talking for instance about the australian example, where you could say, you know, gun-loving culture, the sort of frontier mentality, where this kind of attitude, the politics would deeply engrain. they took out assault weapons, they managed a big buy-back operation, and gun crime continues, of course. but mass shootings has not happened in the 15 years since they introduced the kind of policies that he difficulty he would be better off not reaching for a shot gun, or at least the shot gun metaphor, or policies that actually work in that culture that are actually different. >> tim, you write in your piece, about the hunting, which is down, the participation in hunting, which is done. liberals have only made their arguments for increased gun control, less likely to have an impact. that is your worry, using the old style of argument is less likely to be successful, now. >> yes, they look like phoneys,

trying to be something they're not. and they don't have to. because this ideal american they're trying to imitate, to impersonate, is a thing of the past. >> and richard, with biden, it seems that there is this thing that happens to him. he can start down a sentence and not know at the beginning where he is going, and enthusiasm takes over. and suddenly, jill is firing a shot from the balcony. >> not just that, but he is urging us over and over, go buy one, he even lines it up on camera, there is no stopping him. it is not just that the volume is set to 11. it is just that there is no pause or stop on this tape deck that he is running. >> well, he may have sold a few shot guns yesterday, but i am not buying one. richard wolff and timothy nolan, thank you for joining us.

coming up in the rewrite, the first big public speaking event since the concession speech is going to be to an audience that is going to boo the sound of his name because he was not conservative enough. the republicans like mitt romney and sarah palin will be welcome at the cpac this year. and we're just moments away from elizabeth colbert busch's national television visit. as a congressional democrat. we'll find out how much her brother, stephen colbert will hurt her run for office. or if it is possible he could actually help her win. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card to fly home for the big family reunion. you must be garth's father? hello. mother. mother! traveling is easy with the venture card because you can fly any airline anytime. two words. double miles! this guy can act. wanna play dodge rock? oh, you guys!

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well, i'll put it in a nut shell, if they don't run. >> that was ann coulter. that was her in 2011, offering a rare dose of reality to the cpac conference in washington, but reality is a hard thing for

right wing conservatives to hold on to. and ann found herself unable to follow her own advice. >> here is what i want to ask you, very simple. now who do you support? >> romney-cain, 2012. >> the cpac conference will reconvene next month, it is a lineup of the usual suspects, eric cantor, marco rubio, and the man who has been the leader of the senate republicans for six years, and whose run is now seriously threatened by an actress who does not currently live in his state. a threat that the party who elected an actor president is taking very seriously. after members of congress, the second biggest category of speaker at cpac this year will be the losers.

in fact, it would be better named the loser's political action conference. losing vice presidential candidate sarah palin will be there, as will be losing president nominee mitt romney, and rick santorum. they will no doubt get cheers and applause from the audience for recycling versions of exactly the same lines that made them such losers. today, cpac announced they landed the biggest loser of them all, mitt romney, so cpac has rewritten the position on romney, when ann coulter said it would be a mistake to nominate him in 2011, to cheering for him as the republican nominee, to this year, inviting him to give the key address at the loser's conference. this offers some suspense, will romney be cheered or booed for being such a loser?

and most importantly, what will he add to the romney greatest hits reel? >> [ speaking in a foreign language ] >> i'm mitt romney, and yes, wolf, that is also my first name. any old girlfriends here? no one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. i met a guy yesterday, 7 feet tall, handsome, great big guy, 7 feet tall, name is rick miller, portland, oregon, he started a business, of course it was in basketball, but it wasn't in basketball, i figured he had to be in sports, but it wasn't in sports. i love this country, america the beautiful, oh beautiful, for amber waves of grain, corn counts. >> i am convinced that what makes america such a great nation, not just our beautiful land and our mountains -- and

other -- now does it -- oh beautiful, for spacious skies, amber waves of grain, and green waves of grain, with the beans and corn. >> take a risk, borrow money from your parents, start a business. i live for laughter, i mean -- >> i want to make sure that we all understand we have to clean up the water that our kids are swimming in. and by that, i mean the pornography, the drug culture, the violence, sex, that bombards them day and out. >> i like being able to fire people that provide services to me. $10 thousand bet, i'm not familiar precisely what i said, i stand by what i said, whatever it was. hi. hi.

i'm here to pick up some cacti.

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holy cow, my sister is running for congress. >> as a broadcast journalist i am obligated to maintain pure objectivity, it doesn't matter that my sister is hard working and dedicated to the people of south carolina. joining me now, the dedicated, hard-working, compassionate sister of stephen colbert, joining me, elizabeth colbert busch joins me by phone. elizabeth, thank you for joining us. >> lawrence, thank you for having me, i'm just delighted to join you. >> and may i call you elizabeth?

>> of course you may. >> may i call you lulu, which is what stephen apparently calls you in a fundraising letter he has written for you? >> yes, you may. >> i'm going to stick with elizabeth, i'm more comfortable with elizabeth. we have the first case of campaign sabotage here on the screen. we have not had a satellite failure in the 35-year history of this program. this is the first time it has ever happened. i don't think -- i don't believe in this kind of coincidence, do you? >> i think it probably is just a coincidence. >> all right. you're very trusting, but you're new at this politics thing. i noticed on your website, a picture of your father with president kennedy. he was part of the group "physicians for jfk" during the president's campaign in 1960. so your ties to democratic politics and to politics go way back? >> they do, they go very far back.

and when that picture was taken, i was actually 6 years old. >> oh, and there is another picture on the website of the whole family, with that little stephen, the youngest of the whole group there, 1968 family picture, which we're showing right now. at that time, let's start there. okay? with this mystery. at that time, did everyone in that group pronounce your family name the same way? >> yes. >> and how did they pronounce it then? >> colbert. >> and how do you pronounce it now? >> colbert. >> and what is that guy in new york up to? >> his name is stephen colbert. but there is a story behind that. >> okay, what is the story? >> okay, when we were growing up, my father told us the story about our heritage, and that we actually came from a french family out of a place in france. and the man's name was john colbert. and so that is where that name

came from. your father said the name is colbert in french, we pronounce it colbert. so you choose which of you would prefer. some of my brothers chose colbert, and some of us chose colbert. >> and obviously, anybody with political dreams went with the american sound of it. i had questions sent in by the audience tonight, they're very excited to get questions to you. this one is from d-mac on twitter, ask her how tired she is of the question, what is stephen like, was he really funny? >> stephen was actually the youngest of 11. and he was an observer. stephen always watched what was going on. there were ten of us running around, stephen is the youngest, he was always the observer, watching everything that we've done. he has always had a very intellectual sense of humor.

>> all right, this is a question, is the stephen colbert going to help you finance the campaign? >> well, the answer is no, before i announced the campaign, stephen decided to distribute the funds for the super pac, distributing them. >> so he blew the money before you needed it, is what you're saying? >> yes, he gave to very worthy causes. >> so elizabeth, south carolina, running for congress, there is a good chance you will be running against mark sanford, who is very low right now in the polls. is that your road to victory, beating a scandal-victimized former governor? >> well, lawrence if you don't mind me saying so we still have a democratic primary to get through on march 19th. >> no, we have declared you the winner of that already, yeah, you have won that. >> all right, thank you, well, whate'